And, as I have learned from the many e-mail messages I received from well-wishers, everyone seems to know someone who choked on lettuce, peanuts, stringy beef stew, bagels or, like me, chicken.

• 从我收到的祝福电子邮件里我发现，几乎每个人都知道某一个人因生菜叶、花生、炖牛肉、百吉饼，或者像我一样，因鸡肉，而窒息的故事。